Tremble
by RachelDemented
Summary: A series of earthquakes hit LA and Cordelia worries about Angel being alone in the Hotel. Takes place whenever after “Epiphany” but before any major plot changes to the show. Definitely heading in an A/C “getting it on” direction…
1. Part 1

**:: Tremble ::**

by Rachel

Email: [rachelpeek@excite.com][1] or [MDCF@excite.com][2]

Summary: A series of earthquakes hit LA and Cordelia worries about Angel being alone in the Hotel. Takes place whenever after "Epiphany" but before any major plot changes to the show. Definitely heading in an A/C "getting it on" direction…

:: Visit my Angel site at [http://www.geocities.com/underabluenight][3] ::

Tremble: Part 1

The ground trembled in the still of the warm L.A. am.

At first, it felt like a big truck going by, and the sleeping Cordelia Chase turned over, ignoring it, and covered her head with her pillow. But then the wind chimes outside began to ring in absolute menace, and she slowly stirred. The shaking grew more violent, and with a loud pop, the walls began to shudder, and various picture frames toppled from their places on her nightstand. Cordelia's eyes opened wide, and she lay very still, clutching the sheets against her and holding her breath. Very quickly it stopped, and once it ended, its ruckus was replaced by the innate blaring of car alarms up and down the street.

The earthquake had lasted only seconds, and to most Southern Californians, it was insignificant. To Cordelia Chase, it was enough to get out of bed for…_she glanced at the clock_…even at 7:32 am.

She slid her white terrycloth bathrobe on over her pajamas…_if you could call them that; merely a tank top and girly boxer shorts_…then slipped on her slippers and padded out into the living room. She dragged herself across the hardwood floor, noticing that, besides a few askewed pictures, everything was in order; there was no permanent damage done; and then went straight to the front door. She undid the chain lock and flung it open wide. She stared out into the empty hallway for a few meager seconds…_apparently none of her neighbors cared to check on anyone else's safety_…before slamming it closed.

"Dennis," She groaned groggily. The air around her surged with the ghost's energy, and she knew he was there, listening. She shook her head in disgust and headed towards the kitchenette. "People really suck."

During her ritual coffee and glancing through yesterday's paper, another quake came. The aftershock seemed worse than the original. It lasted a few seconds longer, enough time for Cordelia to take shelter beneath the eve of the doorway to the living room, and things seemed to sway more.

She frowned at the ceiling lamp, swinging to and fro.

_'Good thing Wes is away,'_ She thought. _'He's such a wimp…"_

She braced herself as the rumbling grew suddenly worse. The walls shook very hard, and suddenly Cordelia was scared.

And then it stopped, as abruptly as it had come.

She moved slowly out of the safety of the doorway and looked skeptically up at the still swaying ceiling lamp. She decided she should get dressed, and probably go check on the office…or Angel, seeing as she suddenly didn't really want to be alone right then.

"Good idea." She commented herself. "Dennis, I'm going to check on Angel…I'll be back later."

She disappeared into the bedroom and quickly changed her clothes.

Two bus stops and two blocks later, Cordelia approached the large vintage hotel occupied by her friend…_alone_.

This suddenly bothered her. 

She glanced sideways up at it, suddenly seeing how really, really, _really old _it looked_, _as opposed to the newer, _and earthquake-safe,_ buildings in the district surrounding it, and she found herself wondering what would happen to it if a really BIG earthquake hit…

_"Eek!"_ She squealed, and ran to the front doors.

She dug quickly through her purse to find the keys, and let herself in.

She stepped into the lobby, closing the door behind her, then quickly crossing the tiled entry, came down the lobby steps two at a time and looked around.

"Angel?" She called out, her voice echoing slightly in the space. She quickly peeked into his old office and found it empty. She came back to the center of the lobby. "Angel??? I came to check on you…" She turned towards the stairs and cocking her head, peered up at them. "Angel???"

"I'm coming," He called out. Cordelia sighed slightly in relief, and a few seconds later, he appeared, barefoot, though dressed in his usual black dress slacks and buttoning up his long sleeved black shirt. He looked tired. "Hey," He said.

"Hey…I got worried," She glanced around. "Did you feel it?"

"Yeah, it woke me up,"

"I don't think its safe for you to be here." She warned.

"What? Why…" He reached the landing and walked past her towards the office kitchen.

"Well," Cordelia started, following on his heels. "I was walking up the street, and I kinda…_looked_…at the hotel, and…" He turned to face her, putting his hands on his hips, listening. She grimaced apologetically and smiled. "Angel…this place is a dump."

"What!" He said. He looked around and gestured at the ceiling. "This hotel is beautiful. It's—it's a landmark, a part of history! It's perfect."

"Maybe for a museum," She quickly added. He gave her a look. "But not for a home…especially not for one of my friends."

"Cordy…" He started again towards the kitchen.

"Angel! This is LA!"

"So?"

"SO! It's like Earthquake City here, and I…" Glancing at the walls. "Don't think it's so up to par anymore…I mean just look at it."

Angel humored her and looked around.

"There's nothing wrong with it, Cordelia,"

"Angel, it's like a million years old!…and…and there's like a MILLION floors that could come crashing down on your head! Think about it!" She exclaimed. Angel smirked. He was much older than this hotel. He didn't take well to cracks about his age… Cordelia didn't take note of his annoyance. She went on. "Imagine it, Angel! Some early morning, not quite that different from the one today, the ground starts to shake! You wake up in a sweat! The walls are swaying like crazy, and you sit there helplessly in bed, watching the walls and thinking, 'You know, Cordelia was probably right about this place…' ONLY YOU DON'T GET TO FINISH THAT THOUGHT because BAM! A fault line opens up, and this place takes a header SMACK! Right into the ground! And then the floors start collapsing, and then the walls, and then the roof caves in! And…Oh my god! The SUN comes bursting through—"

"Okay, I get the point,"

"AND YOU'RE TOAST!" Cordelia gasped, mostly for dramatic effect, and came up to stand before him. She crossed her arms. "Angel! This place is a disaster waiting to happen! You cannot stay here anymore, I forbid it."

"Forbid?" Angel questioned, crossing his own arms. He glanced around uneasily though, and took what she said to mind. "Um, maybe… _Cordelia!_ You're getting all worked up over nothing! I'll be fine."

"Maybe you will! But, maybe you wont." She let her voice hint at catastrophic possibilities.

They entered the kitchen and Angel went to the refrigerator. Cordelia slid into a chair at the table and rested her chin on her hand.

"You want some juice?" He asked dryly, taking his own 'juice' from the fridge (from his blood supply) and setting it down on the counter.

"Sure."

He took out the new carton of Minute Maid Orange Juice, which he kept on hand especially for times like these…when Cordelia was being chatty, or when she, Wes, and Gunn were staying late and Angel would cook them an early breakfast. He poured her a tall glass, then emptied his packet of blood into a mug and sat down across from her. They both drank.

"Angel," Cordelia said, adding a little 'please' to her tone. "Don't stay here…at least not for the next few days."

"Cordy—"

Angel was cut off by another earthquake.

The walls started to shake again, and surprised they both looked up. 

This time, there was a thunderous rolling involved, and Cordelia swore a freight train was about to come crashing through the doors. The entire hotel vibrated; the glass of the doors, windows and skylights rattled in their panes.

When it didn't slow, Angel started to stand, holding out his hand to Cordelia. She took it quickly and he pulled her from her seat to the kitchen doorway. The rumbling got worse.

"Angel!" Cordelia shrieked. The whole place started pounding. He grabbed her around the shoulders and pulled her back against him as he braced himself in the doorway. Cordelia squeezed her eyes closed, pressing her face to his chest and clutched him. 

Things started falling. Her glass of juice rocked to its side, spilling across the table and then rolled off and crashed to the floor. The cupboard doors rocked, swinging open, and dishes hit the floor in a sharp clatter. All over the lobby plants fell over, lamps tipped and broke, and books came loose from shelves. Loud snaps sounded out as some of the tiles in the main entrance cracked apart, and the floor continued to sway nauseatingly.

Angel grit his teeth. Cordelia's heart was racing. He could feel it through her skin. He tucked his chin against her head and promised her it'd be okay.

"Don't worry, it should stop soon,"

"I hope so!"

Just when they began to doubt his words, after a final rumble and a rolling snap, the earth grew still again.

Angel still held Cordelia protectively, but his grip on her loosened. She, however, still clutched frantically to his shirt. She opened her eyes and peeked out. Angel raised his head and carefully looked around.

The damage wasn't as bad as it could have been.

Slowly he released her, and with careful steps, came out of the kitchen to investigate. Cordelia followed him on shaky legs, taking deep, needed breaths, trying to calm herself down.

   [1]: mailto:rachelpeek@excite.com
   [2]: mailto:MDCF@excite.com
   [3]: http://www.geocities.com/underabluenight



	2. Part 2

**:: Tremble ::**

by Rachel

Tremble: Part 2

He was still awed by the shaker. Not nearly lasting as long as it had seemed, it had been remotely mild and had lasted maybe only forty-five seconds. Angel ran a hand through his hair and walked through the mottled hotel lobby. He up righted a tall plant stand, avoiding stepping in the spilt soil surrounding it, then continued on, inspecting the damaged floor.

Cordelia followed closely, eyeing the ceiling and the suddenly dangerous skylight within. Angel paused before the light, and glanced at her.

"I'll check," She said quietly. He stood there, waiting, while she treaded delicately forward, into the sunlight, and looked down at the floor. About six tiles would need to be replaced, but that was all. Cordelia glanced up at the high windows, almost afraid of getting any closer to the door, but she had to go up and look, and so she went forward very carefully; holding her breath as if a single sigh might trigger an avalanche of glass.

She knew it was silly, but still…

"What's it look like outside?" Angel asked.

"Huh? Oh…" Cordelia stepped closer to the large front glass doors. With a quick peek, she could see that traffic was still moving smoothly. Pedestrians, however, had all moved further out onto the sidewalk and were glancing this way and that, apprehensively giving the once over to nearby buildings and any possible hidden dangers. Nothing seemed to be broken or crumbled or burning on fire.

"Everything looks okay," She said. He folded his arms and she turned and started back towards him. "Still want to stay here?" She asked.

"Um…" Angel glanced about, shyly.

"Yeah, thought so." Cordelia smirked. "Better gather some things…spare clothes, spare blood… You're coming to my place."

"I am, am I?"

"Yep." Cordelia smiled, self-assured. "Wes and Gunn are out on that weird guy weekend fishing trip thing…why, I still don't get," (Angel smirked now) "…and I'm all alone, well, unless you count Dennis, which I do, in which case I am NOT alone…but then, he's not there in the flesh, so, yeah, physically, I am alone… And you're all alone! And this place is…_old_. And my place is…less old; therefore I'm sure its more earthquake safe. So…it's obvious that the only logical place for you to be is with me at my place…unless you want to rent a motel room, but being a night stalker and all, I'd doubt you'd want to do that."

"You know, I resent that,"

"Noted—But it's true, isn't it? And Angel…I kinda don't want to be alone, okay? So… you're going to stay with me."

It was a command, not a question. The corners of his mouth turned up in a smile, and Angel couldn't hide it. He let his arms drop and sighed.

"Of course." 

Cordelia grinned. "Great!!! Now…let's get your things, and get the hell out of here."

"Cordelia! I'm only staying for a few days, not a few weeks!"

"I know that!" Cordelia snapped, yanking yet another black shirt from it's hanger in his closet. Angel sat on the corner of his bed lacing up his boots. Cordelia had taken the liberty of raiding his closet, deciding what he would need, and what he wouldn't, and deciding he needed far more than he really did. She shoved his outerwear into a bag, and then started towards his drawers.

"Where's your underwear?" She asked. 

Angel blushed. "Um, I think I can handle my own underwear!" He said. Cordelia didn't look amused.

"Well, hurry up then!" She said sternly. "We've got to get out of here before another quake hits!"

"Cordelia, it's not going to—"

"SSH! Don't say it! You'll jinx it!"

"Geez, okay! Sorry…"

"Fine," She said shoving the bag into his arms. "You get your underwear, I'll pack up your bathroom stuff. And then we'll gather your blood supply and scram. Let's try to make it out within the next ten minutes,"

"Whatever you say, boss." 

She scowled. "Hey, it's your ass I'm trying to save, not mine. If you want to stay here—"

Angel held up his hand and bowed his head in surrender. "Sorry, you're right, you're right,"

"Good." Cordelia's perfectly shaped brow arched in a familiar air of arrogance. But she smiled anyway and clasped her hands. "Now lets go! We don't have all day."

She disappeared into his bathroom, and Angel listened as she bustled around in his cabinets. He quickly went over to his underwear drawer and quietly shoved his underwear into his bag. His quick action wasn't out of urgency however…he just didn't want her to see them. He then grabbed some socks, and by the time he was done, Cordelia was reemerging from the bathroom and directing him back downstairs. A few pints of blood, and they were on their way.

"Almost there," Cordelia said over her shoulder.

"Good," Angel muttered.

He wasn't happy, crouched down in the back of his convertible, hood up, with a blanket over his head. Cordelia let a slip of a grin slide out but kept her eyes on the road.

They had been listening to the radio on the way; there hadn't been any reports of injury, and not much major damage…mostly there were a few of the older housing projects being evacuated in case of structural damage. Apparently the earthquakes hadn't been as strong as Cordelia had thought. A 4.5 at 7:32 this morning, the announcer had said. It sure felt bigger than that. But the epicenter had been about twenty miles away so it hadn't even hit them that hard. And then a dozen or so aftershocks occurred all over the Southland, and then another separate earthquake (the one they had felt together at the hotel), a 5.1, at 8:52; the epicenter merely ten miles away.

"Who makes up those ratios anyway?" Cordelia asked aloud while they sat stopped at a stoplight.

"Seismologists," Angel said. "And the Richter scale."

Cordelia rolled her eyes but didn't say the DUH that hung on her tongue. The light turned green and they started moving again.

"Do you think Wes and Gunn are okay out there?"

"Safer out there then they are in the city," Angel answered. He cringed at the heat infiltrating his blanket as the car moved out of the shade of a block of buildings and past an empty lot. "Could you speed it up!" He said. He shuffled out of a blade of light. A swirl of smoke rose up from the blanket and Cordelia winced.

"Sorry!" She turned at a corner and pressed down slightly on the accelerator. "Only a few more blocks."

"Just hurry."

Luckily, Cordelia lived in a building that offered underground parking and elevator access into her building. Angel was safe from the sunlight and they carried his things up to her floor.

"Oh great," Cordelia muttered as they stepped out of the elevator and approached her apartment at the end of the hallway.

"What?" Angel asked quietly, leaning in to listen.

"Old Mrs. Feitlemeyer…she's so nosey."

Angel made a quiet little "o" and followed closely beside. They came to the old woman, standing in her hallway with a thin pink leash dangling from her arm, and an ugly, little dog at the end of it. She scowled at the duo as they started to walk past her.

"Afternoon, Miss Chase." She said.

"Hello."

"Did you feel the earthquake this morning?"

"Yeah."

"At first I thought it was coming from your apartment…Whose your man friend?"

"Just a friend…" Cordelia rolled her eyes, her face turning slightly red.

"Oh."

"Hello," Angel said politely.

"You sure have a lot of man friends," Mrs. Feitlemeyer continued, ignoring Angel's attempt at pleasantries and staring brazenly at her young neighbor. Cordelia heaved a sigh and kept on walking. Angel however, turned back to stare at the old woman. Then her old dog started growling and snipping and Angel looked down at it. The old lady yanked back the leash, and with a yelp, the little dog was pulled back away from Angel's feet. "Always got man friends…" She then repeated. Angel heard Cordelia mutter an obscenity under her breath. "I, myself, like that young English boy. Don't care for the other one though…"

"Other one?" Angel asked, turning back to Cordelia. They'd almost reached her door.

"Gunn." She said flatly. "I think it's an _intolerance_ thing…" She eyed him, conveying her disgust.

"I see."

Cordelia unlocked her door and walked in. Angel followed.

"Good bye Miss Chase, nice to see you again,"

"Yeah, I'm sure!" Cordelia called back and slammed the door. "Oh, that woman!"

Angel paused in the safety of the enshadowed entryway while Cordelia went forward and dropped the bag she had carried in onto the sofa. She walked around to all the windows, sure to close the blinds. Dennis helped. When it was safe, Angel walked over to the breakfast counter and set his things down. He turned slightly, glancing at her and smiled.

"She's old."

"She's decrepit!"

"She's set in her ways."

"She's a menace!"

"Maybe so…don't let her bother you,"

"I don't!" Cordelia walked back to the sofa and retrieved his bag. Angel entered the kitchen and opening the refrigerator, stored away his food supply. "How did you deal with it?" Cordelia asked from the other room.

"What?" He asked, pausing briefly in his task.

"The way people were back in her hay-day," She sighed and started towards the bedroom, inspecting the apartment as she went. There seemed to be no damage from the latter quake, although if anything had fallen, Dennis would have picked it up already.

"Well," Angel started. He'd finished putting away his blood then came out into the living room. He followed her voice to her bedroom where she was busy hanging up his clothes. "You don't have to do that," He said.

"Eh," She shrugged. "I don't want them to get wrinkled. I'll put them in my closet…" She paused when she turned around. Her own closet had been packed full. "Or maybe the hall closet." She said. Angel shrugged indifferently. "Dennis! Will you clear some space in the hall closet please!"

The sound of things being pushed around and moved resounded from behind the closed closet door. After a moment, the door opened and his clothes started to float into it. Cordelia smiled.

"Thanks Dennis." She glanced at Angel. "He's the best roommate, LIKE EVER."

Angel smiled, amused. "I bet."

Cordelia glanced at the clock.

"Wow, you must be exhausted," She said. She looked at Angel. It was almost 9:30. The vamp never rose before noon unless there was an emergency…but most emergencies happened after the sun went down, so that was like, hardly ever.

Angel rubbed a hand through his hair. "Yeah. I am."

"Well, you can sleep in here, I think I'm going to nap on the couch."

"I'll sleep on the couch." Angel said.

"Nah…I'm going to watch the news for a little while. And besides, I'm smaller. I can fit better. It's fine…" She turned to leave. Angel started to slip off his coat. "Oh! I think later I'm going to go check out the office, you know, make sure its still there…"

"Well, wake me. I'll go with you."

"Okay. I'll wait until a decent hour though…" Cordelia smiled. "Dusk, maybe. We should both be rested enough by then."

"Okay."

"Kay…Goodnight."

"Night."

She turned and left, closing the door behind her. Angel sighed and finished removing his coat. He slipped off his shoes, threw off his shirt, ditched his belt, then slid into bed. This was not his natural hour at all and at this moment, the sheets felt heaven-sent.

He cuddled into the pillow, noting it smelled sweet, like shampoo…like Cordelia, then closed his eyes. This was nice. Not his own bed, but comfortable all the same. He started to drift off into a deep sleep.

But then Cordelia came in and woke him up.

"Sorry!" She cringed, when he sat up in a stupor. He rubbed his eyes.

"It's okay…"

"I just needed to get a few things," She quickly went over to the dresser and opening a drawer, pulled out a pair of pajamas, much like the ones she had woken up in that morning. She made a last stop to grab her bathrobe and slippers from the adjoining bathroom then with a smile, left back out into the living room.

As the door pulled shut, Angel sighed again, lay back down, and was out.

Cordelia crossed over to the couch, where she quickly changed her clothes. She tossed her robe over the sofa arm, left her slippers at the floor beneath the coffee table, then propped a few throw pillows to the side, and laid down, pulling a lavender handmade afghan over her. She picked up the remote and flicked on the TV, turning the sound down low.

She watched, her eyes growing heavy at each passing second; first the local news about the earthquakes, and then the weather report. The air conditioner flicked on and she looked up and sighed at Dennis. It was already cool in here, but anytime there was a remote possibility that the temperature might rise somewhere near room level, he turned the air conditioner on. Ghosts and cold; they went hand in hand Cordelia supposed. Too bad it was a bitch every third of the month when she got her electric bill. She rolled her eyes and lay back, snuggling into the pillow, and falling asleep.

A few minutes later, Dennis flicked off the TV, and disappearing into his secret void, the only the movement throughout the dark apartment was the stirring whirl of cool air from the a/c.

Early afternoon. 

Angel awoke to a horrible shaking. 'Another one,' He thought, getting to his feet. He opened the bedroom door and stumbled out into the living room. Cordelia had just sat up, shaken awake and eyes wide. Before she even turned to look at Angel, it stopped. Both of them sighed.

"I am SO SICK OF THIS!" She said in aggravation. She slumped back against the couch.

Angel grumbled in agreement and went towards the kitchen. His stomach was growling and he decided to give up any future attempts at sleep for a snack.

"Are you hungry?" He asked gruffly as he prepared his own meal.

Cordelia frowned and focused on her empty stomach.

"A little," She sighed.

"I can make you something,"

Cordelia nodded and rose, slipping on her slippers, and shuffled over to the breakfast counter. She climbed up on a stool and leaning her chin on her hand, looked past the counter at Angel. He stood there in front of the open refrigerator, digging past her junk food for fresh eggs and milk…with his shirt off.

Cordelia perked up.

"Is breakfast okay?" He asked, glancing back at her.

"Huh?"

"Breakfast…eggs, toast, is that okay?"

"Oh," She frowned. "Yeah! Yeah, sure, of course! Whatever you wanna make…you're the cook."

"But you have to eat it," He said, picking out a few things and setting them next to the sink.

"Angel…you know its not often that I get a home cooked meal, so whatever you want…" She yawned. "It's good for me."

"Okay," He said.

In no time at all he was whipping up something that smelled all too good. 'I could get used to this,' She thought. Cordelia leaned eagerly over the counter, leaning to the side, watching him cook. Her eyes would wander every now and then up to the black lined tattoo inked into the pale skin on the back of his shoulder, and she caught herself wondering how much it had hurt…or even if it had hurt at all.

She'd never really gotten that good a look at it. Anytime she'd seen him without his shirt on, he'd been injured and bleeding, usually with some sort of sharp metal object sticking into or out of him, and she'd been busy working at trying to patch him up.

"You don't have any scars," She said absentmindedly. Angel glanced back at her.

"Huh?"

Cordelia sat up straight, not realizing she'd said it out loud. "You don't have any scars…from being impaled or stabbed or anything."

"Oh," He turned down the flame as he stirred a mixture of vegetables, ham and eggs with a spatula in a pan. "I heal too quickly for that, I guess. I don't have a chance to get scars."

"I have one," She sighed, leaning back on her hand and thinking back to when she'd been impaled. _Now that had hurt! But she had never quite decided what had hurt more…the actual impaling, or the events that led up to the impaling…_

Angel looked up at her. She caught his brown eyes on her, and looked away.

"I would've seen a plastic surgeon about getting it cleared up," She sighed. "But by then I was broke, so…"

"You would've seen a plastic surgeon over a scar?" Angel asked. He turned off the range and holding the pan over a large plate, flipped it over and scooped the contents out onto it. Cordelia leaned forward hungrily, eyeing it and waiting impatiently. _It was a perfect omelet. Everything she cooked always came out half burnt…_

"Well, it's a really ugly scar," She explained. "I'm lucky I can still wear a bathing suit, _if_ I wear a little sarong thingy over it. It covers half my stomach."

Angel paused, thinking to himself if he'd ever seen it. Cordelia's voice brought him back.

"Gosh, that smells good."

He pushed the plate in front of her, passed her the salt and pepper, then made her two slices of toast.

Cordelia ate happily, 'Mmming' in appreciation.

Angel leaned against the kitchen counter, arms crossed as he drank the contents of his mug, freshly nuked in the microwave, watching her from over its rim until she'd eaten every last bite.

She dropped her fork and smiled, chewing the last of her food. She sipped down the last of her coffee, reheated in the coffeepot from earlier that morning, and then got up to clean up her mess.

"I'll do that," Angel offered.

"No," Cordy said, pushing past him in the small space of the kitchen. "You're a guest."

"I'm an inconvenience," He said, taking her dirty plate from her unsuspecting hand.

"You're not an inconvenience!"

"Well, still…I'm staying here for a few days, I should do my fair share."

"Fair share of what???" She asked, taking the plate back.

"Cleaning. Household chores."

"What are we? A married couple??? Besides, that's what Dennis is for." Cordelia dumped the plate into the sink and then turned on the faucet. Angel frowned. _She was so stubborn…_He picked up a clean dishrag and started wiping down the counters. Cordelia paused to give him a dirty glare, then smiled. Angel raised his brow at her and continued his task. Together they cleaned up; Cordelia washed, Angel dried, and Dennis put away the dishes.


	3. Part 3

Tremble

**:: Tremble ::**

by Rachel

Tremble: Part 3

"I'm thinking this sucks." Cordelia said as they both sat apart on the sofa, waiting for the sun to go down. They were anxious to be able to get out and move about. But for now they were stuck inside, and the news was on again. It was always on on days like this. It was an on going thing. All they talked about were the stupid earthquakes….

Angel sighed from across the couch.

Cordelia blew out a heavy breath and decided to look for something better to watch. It was after five; 'Friends' reruns should be on. She didn't watch TV much, but when she got the chance, it was probably her most preferred show. That Rachel really cracked her up! She was so spoiled and self indulged! How could someone be so clueless???

Cordelia spotted the remote sitting on the end table just past Angel. Without thinking, she simply reached past him, leaning over his lap, and retrieved it. Angel squeezed back against the sofa out of reflex as she entered his personal space. He watched as she moved back to her side; his eyes inadvertently trailed down the line of her neck to her cleavage, which kinda swayed into view for a few seconds. He realized he was staring and quickly looked away, scolding himself silently, then shoving it out of his mind as if it didn't happen. Angel always did that when his eyes lingered a little too long on the beauty that was Cordelia Chase. He didn't like her like that, they were, after all, family.

The term 'family' was so over rated…

Cordelia was back on her side of the couch now, and holding out the remote, pushed the button for channel 5. She smiled when her show popped into view. 

"Yay." She said.

"_Yay_ what?"

"I never got to see the end of this one before."

"What is this?"

Cordelia gave him an awed expression.

"DUH! It's _Friends!"_

"Oh." Angel grew silent. He started chewing one of his nails.

A joke was said; the laugh track on the show giggled and applauded, Cordelia laughed, and Monica hit Ross in the head. 

"What's 'Friends'?" He asked quietly. Cordelia looked at him pathetically and shook her head. 

"You're a lost cause, Angel."

"Sorry, you know I don't watch TV,"

Just then the broadcast was interrupted by a special news bulletin.

"DAMN YOU, HAL FISHMAN!" Cordelia hissed, sitting up and throwing a pillow at the TV. "Little, bug eyed creep," She mumbled. 

The Muppet-looking geriatric news anchor started rambling on more about the earthquakes. It was enough to make Cordelia livid and she flicked off the television in a huff and threw the remote at the floor.

Angel glanced over at her. Cordelia scowled. "Now I'll never know if Ross and Rachel get together again…damned earthquakes."

"I'm sure you'll get a chance to see it again."

"Maybe…"

"Cordy, don't look so depressed. It's just a TV show."

"But I _like_ that show," She whined uselessly. 

Now Angel shook his head at her pathetically. "I was always more into books." He justified.

_"Plech! Books,"_ She grimaced. "I see enough books at work, thanks."

"You've never read a good book," Angel said. "Reading can open so many windows…You should try it sometime…reading." 

Cordelia glared at him. "Was that supposed to be a crack about my _ability_ to read???"

_"No!"_ Angel gasped. "No way! I know…I know you can _read_. I just meant, you should read something _good_, something intriguing…not judge all books by the ones you read at work. Then maybe you'd feel differently about it, that's all."

"Oh." Cordelia eyed him wryly. "You could take over as the host of The Reading Rainbow, you know that?"

"The Reading _what?_"

"Nevermind." Cordelia rolled her eyes. "And just what would you suggest I read?"

"Me? Oh, I don't know."

"Oh come on. You're the big book-reader…what would I like?"

"I don't know…a lot of things. There's all kinds of great authors out there, and it depends on what genre you like,"

"What kind do you like?"

"The classics,"

Cordelia rolled her eyes again. "How did I guess?"

_"Was that supposed to be a crack about my age?"_

Cordelia shook her head innocently. "No…not at all."

Now Angel eyed her suspiciously.

"We must be bored…" Cordelia sighed. "I'm in a boring discussion about books."

"Sun's almost down," Cordelia said, standing at the window and peeking out through the blinds. She sensed Angel come up behind her and she turned around to find him slipping on his leather jacket. "Have you been feeling as stir crazy as I have?" She asked. 

He nodded slightly, almost apologetically.

"You're great company…but yes."

"I don't blame you," Cordelia said, patting his arm as she passed him. She wrinkled her brow. "I don't know how you can stand it…being trapped inside all day."

"Well, at least at the hotel I had sewer access," Angel said simply. "But besides…what with burning up in the atmosphere and all, I don't really miss the daytime that much."

"Still," Cordelia crossed the room to her bedroom, and going to her closet, removed her knee length, burgundy leather coat. She slipped it on over the black fitted bodice style tank she wore with matching slim, boot-cut pants, then checked her lipstick and fluffed her hair in the mirror on the inside of the door. She gave herself a once over, and satisfied, sealed the closet. She walked back out into the living room, stopping to pick up her bag, and called out, "We'll be back later, Dennis."

She and Angel headed towards the front door, and then left the apartment. Dennis locked the door behind them.

The hallway was deserted. Or so it seemed.

Angel followed Cordelia as she strode down the carpet; the only sound was leather swishing at their jackets movement, and Cordelia's boot heels clicking across the floor. Angel's steps were silent, of course, and they got to the elevator and pushed the down button. Cordelia glanced at her wristwatch and saw that it was now almost 7:20. By the time they got to the parking garage, it would be dark out.

"So where are we going first? The office?"

Angel nodded. "Office first…then, I kinda wanted to drive around a little, get some air."

"Sure."

Finally the door slid open and with a few steps, both were inside. Practically meeting the wall in the tiny enclosed space, they turned around to face the outside hallway and Angel reached down to push the P button for the parking garage. It lit up, and the two of them stood quietly waiting for the doors to close.

"Let's stop back by the hotel again, and pick up some more of your things."

Angel groaned. "Cordy, I have enough things."

"What!" She gawked."No you don't! You barely have enough to last you until tomorrow!"  
"Cordelia, I have plenty,"

Angel noticed the doors were still open and so he pushed the button again. 

"Angel," Cordelia continued to argue. "You do not have enough stuff. You've got three outfits maybe…four tops! Including the one you're wearing and what if something happens tonight and we run into a big old monster or something and you get demon goo all over yourself and then you'll be down to three again—"

Angel scowled. The doors still weren't closing.

Angel hit the button panel again, and finally with a ding, the doors started to close.

"Its about time." Cordelia mumbled eyeing the elevator. Angel grunted in agreement.

"Wait!" A shrill, old, annoying voice called out. "Hold the door! Wait!"

Angel and Cordelia looked up unexpectedly to see Old Mrs. Feitlemeyer charging down the hallway towards them, dragging her nasty little dog behind her. Angel respectively reached forward and stopped the doors.

"What are you doing!" Cordelia hissed, knocking his hand away.

"What!"

"I don't want to ride the elevator with her! Let her wait!" Cordelia pushed past Angel and hastily began repeatedly pushing the button to close the doors. But nothing happened. "Oh, damn!" Cordelia cursed. She pushed it one last time, practically punching the button panel with her closed fist, and finally with a little ding, to her relief the doors, slid closed.

Cordelia grinned triumphantly, however Mrs. Feitlemeyer's foot hindered their escape. At the very last second, she wedged it between the enclosing doors, and with a ding, they reopened for her, like Moses parting the Red Sea. Cordelia's grin fell into a scowl, and with a nasty look, Mrs. Feitlemeyer shoved her way inside, sending Cordelia even further back into the box and even giving Angel a dirty glance when he, much to Cordelia's dismay, tried to most politely assist her with holding aside the doors until her dog could get in.

"I can do it." She snapped, swatting his arm away. Now Angel was dismayed, but ignoring it, the old lady gave her dog's leash a good, hard tug, and with a yelp, the pooch was now inside too.

It sniffed Angel's shoe and growled. Annoyed, Angel growled back.

Mrs. Feitlemeyer looked up at Angel with wide, surprised eyes and he immediately ceased. He averted his gaze, and once again pushed the P button for the parking structure.

"Basement, please." Mrs. Feitlemeyer said snippily.

"He's not the bellhop, push it yourself." Cordelia grumbled. Mrs. Feitlemeyer looked at her, an argument surely about to ensue.

"No, I got it, Cordy," Angel said, trying to diffuse the situation. He pushed the B button and the doors slid closed.

The three of them stood silently and it took a moment for Cordelia and Angel to realize that they weren't moving. They looked at eachother questioningly, and again, Angel reached forward and pressed the buttons. All of them stay lit, but nothing happened. Angel pushed them harder but still they were motionless.

"That's odd," Mrs. Feitlemeyer said dumbly. "Usually I'd be downstairs by now. This sure is taking a while—"

"That's because we're not moving, Mrs. Feitlemeyer." Cordelia scathed. She sighed heavily and reached around the old woman to push all the buttons in one last attempt to get moving. "Dammit!" Cordelia hissed, beating the button panel with her hand. "Stupid...piece of…old…crap!"

"Maybe you broke it." The old woman said drolly.

"I didn't break anything." Cordelia rolled her eyes and pressed her thumb into the button to open the doors. But they didn't budge.

"Well, maybe your man friend broke it."

"Will you shut up already!" Cordelia heaved. "Nobody broke anything!"

Mrs. Feitlemeyer's face went white, and Cordelia turned to Angel.

"Can you _please_ get us out of here? I think I'm about to go homicidal…"

Angel nodded and stepped forward; Mrs. Feitlemeyer moved back to give him room. Her little dog began to yap furiously at his movement. 

"Stop it, Mitzie," She snapped. She'd scolded the mutt, but the look she gave the two of them was unpleasant to say in the least. Cordelia gladly returned the look, crossing her arms sourly and watching Mrs. Feitlemeyer out of the corner of her eye. They both snubbed their noses at one another, and eventually one looked away.

Angel tried to pry the doors apart with his fingers. Mrs. Feitlemeyer smirked to herself, watching demurely as he then began to search throughout his pockets.

"What are you looking for?" Cordelia asked.

"Something to wedge between the doors." He responded, then pulled out his keys. Taking the key to the Plymouth, he worked hard to slide it within the crease between the flat, steel doors, but to no avail. He shook his head, shoving the keys back into his pocket, and glanced at the tall brunette. "Ah, I need something sharp."

"Here," Cordy said, reaching into her bag and pulling out a wooden stake. She handed it over blatantly, much to his embarrassment, right in front of the old lady. Mrs. Feitlemeyer stared oddly at the sharpened piece of wood, but asked no questions and made no comments. Angel held the stake parallel to the crease in the doors, turning his back to both women and slightly shielding what he was doing from the older one. He shoved the tip of the stake into the door crack and started forcing it in further. He chewed his lip as he did so, sheer determination across his features, and Mrs. Feitlemeyer glanced over at Cordelia and said, implying much more than the question asked,

"Does he always do things with such brute force?"

Cordelia rolled her eyes.

"Of course," The old bag went on. "I bet you're the kind to go for _that_ sort of thing…"

Again. More eye rolling from Cordelia.

"Maybe we should just call the super…" Mrs. Feitlemeyer suggested.

"He'll get us out," Cordelia bit.

"But the super could probably fix it correctly! I think we should call him before your man friend breaks things worse,"

"I'm not waiting for the damn super,"

"But the super could fix the door!"

Cordelia was about to retort again when with a grunt and a click, the doors parted, and using his arms, Angel shoved them open wide, all the way open, freeing them.

Angel stepped out into the hallway, straightening his coat, and Cordelia stepped calmly past Mrs. Feitlemeyer to follow.

She exited the elevator, but not before Mrs. Feitlemeyer sniggered,

"He _is_ a strong one, isn't he?"

"Angel," Cordelia started, her fingers briefly gracing his forearm as she gestured across the hallway towards a door to the side. He turned and listened and she started to lead him to it. "Let's take the stairs…"

"Aren't you going to call the super?" Mrs. Feitlemeyer called out helplessly from inside the open box.

"Call him yourself!" Cordelia called back. She and Angel disappeared.

"But the super can fix it!" Mrs. Feitlemeyer said uselessly. 

She stood there for a moment, all alone in the silence with her dog, when slowly the elevator doors closed on her.

"You shouldn't have been so rude," Angel smiled to himself as he and Cordelia strapped themselves into his car.

"Rude?" Cordelia repeated, perking her eyebrow at him.

"To your neighbor."

"I'd thought we'd gone over this."

"She's just old,"

"She's aggravating."

"She's probably lonely."

"She's probably insane."

"Well, still,"  
"Still what. Everything I said she had coming. I should've said more."

"I think you said enough when you told her to shut up,"

"She needed to shut up,"

Angel was about to respond, but then shrugged meekly. 

"Ah ha!" Cordelia gloated. "You're not so high and mighty after all, are ya!" 

Angel perked his brow at her then, and pulled the car out of the parking garage out into the warm L.A. night.

"This place is a mess." Cordelia groaned.

She'd just flipped on the lights at the newer, smaller location of Angel Investigations. Angel locked the doors behind them and came forward past her. He had to watch his step to make sure he didn't crush any important old text from Wesley's demonology collection. It was strewn all over the floor.

Angel walked over to the shelf they had fell from when the shelf had come loose from the wall during one of the earlier quakes. He reached down and easily placed it upright, pushing it back against the wall. He then started hefting up big piles of books onto the counter top of Wesley's desk. There were a lot of books to pick up. This would take longer than they'd expected.

Cordelia winced and crossed the room towards the back room. There beside a side window was her favorite little foliage houseplant, knocked to its side, soil spilt and roots showing.

"Oh!" She groaned, going to it and lifting it helplessly. "Ah, dammit! My poor little Leea Coccinea Rubra!"

Angel glanced sideways at her. She continued to glower.

"Ah, man!" She hissed. "Its dead!"

"Maybe it can be saved," Angel offered, coming up beside her to help her lift the pot.

"No," She pouted. "I doubt it. Look at the trauma here! These leaves will never flourish again!" She caressed a delicate, dark burgundy leaf and sighed. She fell in love with this plant when she found it at the nursery. And look, it even matched her coat, she noticed. Angel set the plant stand upright and scooped as much dirt back into it as he could. He took the plant from Cordelia's hands and placed it carefully back in its base.

"We'll still try." He said.

"Ohh," Cordelia whined. She shook her head skeptically, then turned back to the rest of the office. "Let's just clean up Wesley's books before he gets back and has a heart attack. Besides, wouldn't want anything happening to the…" She picked up a book by a corner of its cover, and cocked her head to read its title. "…Inside Knowledge : The Complete Book of Demon And Devil Anatomy, oh brother."

"Yeah! We definitely can't afford to loose that," Angel snatched the book from her grasp and began skimming through the pages enthusiastically. He stopped and read through one page with genuine interest and Cordelia gave him a hard look before scowling and starting on the rest of the books. Within a half hour, they'd gotten everything back in order.

"Do you think it was even worth it to bother?" Cordelia asked as they headed out.

"What?"  
"Cleaning up the office. I mean, what if there are more earthquakes? Everything's just going to get messed up again anyway."

Angel shrugged but didn't add anything and the two of them got back in his car to drive around for a while with the top down.


	4. Part 4

Tremble

:: Tremble ::

By [Rachel][1]

Tremble: Part 4

"I didn't realize how trapped we were in the house," Cordelia commented, her hair ruffled by the breeze as the car coasted down Sunset boulevard.

"I know," He said, glancing at her briefly before slowing the car as they came to a changing light.

They rolled up to the crosswalk and stopped, light red, the sounds of L.A. happening all around them. Cross traffic started to move, and Cordelia raised her arms and stretched. Angel watched the street signal.

All of a sudden Cordelia's head started to feel fuzzy and she realized it was the start of a vision. Angel looked over at her, his vampire senses sensing it, and just as she'd started to brace herself for it, the feeling stopped as abruptly as it had started.

_'What? The PTB dialed a wrong number?' _She thought. 

Angel touched her arm in question, and looking over at him in shock, she started to shake her head. Suddenly they heard a cry for help.

"HELP ME!"

The two of them sat up with a jerk and scanned the street.

"SOMEONE HELP ME!" It was faint, and behind the sound of traffic, almost unnoticeable. But it was there…someone was screaming for help. 

_ _

'So that's what happened,' she though. The powers had started to warn her, but they had already been here!

"It's coming from there!" Angel pointed out, gripping the steering wheel as he glanced over into the lanes of oncoming traffic. Cordelia turned her gaze in the direction he'd motioned just as the car suddenly whipped around and made an illegal u-turn in the middle of the street. Another car screeched to a halt, but Angel ignored it and made a sharp right into an alleyway. Heading into the dark, the headlights bounced across something big, and as he slammed on the brakes, whatever it was had disappeared into the shadows. 

Angel already had his sights set on it. 

Throwing the car into park, he jumped over the door and broke into a run. Cordelia was a few steps behind him.

They followed it to the end of the alley where a woman was struggling to get free of group of gray colored demons. Cordelia's eyes widened as she saw one's face. It had six eyes where its mouth should have been and a small red hole in its forehead.

"What the hell IS that!" She gasped.

"Get the woman!" Angel instructed. He was already upon them, knocking two to the ground and kicking a third in the face. 

One of them grabbed the woman by the throat and looked like he was ready to squeeze. Cordelia narrowed her gaze and rushed him, her heels clicking like thunder on the pavement as she went. She tackled the demon, knocking the woman loose from its grasp, and the woman fled, screaming in terror back out towards the street. Cordelia was thrown against a large dumpster, nearly getting the wind knocked out of her.

The demon had fallen a few steps away, and Cordy was already struggling to get up and catch her breath at the same time as she grabbed a long board from the ground and swung it at the nearest moving thing. The demon Angel had been battling folded under her attack and slammed into the ground. Just as Cordelia finished that swing, the demon she'd tackled before had gotten to its feet and started to lunge at her. With a resounding thwack, Cordelia spun around and slammed the backside of the board into its big, weird forehead, and the demon went down for the count. Another larger member of the group had taken Angel's attention away and now they were fighting hand-to-hand, and foot-to-foot; the demon advancing blow after blow and Angel reflecting them almost as quickly. 

Cordelia made the mistake of pausing to watch when something hit her from behind. She hit the ground face first, wincing as she felt the burn as her skin scraped across the asphalt. Something grabbed her by the neck and jerked her face up with hard force. She blinked and realized she was staring into three pairs of black, beady eyes…and a long, spiky thing coming out of a small red hole.

"AAAh!" She managed to scream in a half choked yodel. 

The sounds of Angel getting his ass kicked meant he wasn't coming to rescue her.

Cordelia grit her teeth and tried to push it away, and as she struggled against it, it pulled her forward then slammed her back into the ground. Cordelia's body went tingly, the pain ricocheting from the back of her head down her spine and into her limbs, but she continued to claw, trying to get the thing off of her. She was pinned, and that spiky thing was getting closer. Thinking quickly, she did the only thing she could think of. She reached up and shoved her fingers into two of its eyes.

It howled in utter agony as white pus-like foam bubbled out of it. Cordelia's stomach did a summersault as it splashed against her and soaked into her clothing. She barely had to shove this time, and the demon went flying back, clawing at its face and making the most horrible noise that Cordelia had ever heard. She struggled quickly to her feet, and looked over to find Angel fighting not one of the weird, gray demons, but four! And they had him pinned down on the ground.

More had come to help their friends, and that just wasn't fair!

"Cordy!" Angel called out when he caught sight of her; relieved that she was okay but at the same time terrified that they were out numbered and he wasn't able to protect her. He grunted as another strong foot landing in his back. He sputtered and rose again.

He was still struggling to get up.

"The eyes!" She yelled, rushing forward. 

He barely had enough room to move, let alone strategically, and Cordelia prayed she could get the demons attention away from him long enough to loosen their hold so he could be freed. She was coming at them so fast, she barely had time to be afraid.

"LEAVE ANGEL ALONE!" She screamed, grabbing the closest one by the jaw and pulling him back. It twisted to fling her off of it, but Cordelia hung on, and sank her thumbs into its outer eyes sockets. The same bubbling mess came out, and the demon went into a fit of a convulsion.

Now with the remaining three startled, Angel was able to gain ground and within seconds he was back in action. He fought back once again, hitting hard and swinging faster. He slammed his foot into one's gut while catching it by the face. He dug his fingers into its eyes and then flung it across the alleyway. It screamed and hissed and scrambled to crawl away.

That one definitely wasn't coming back for more.

Cordelia rushed back to the car and dove in for her purse. She fumbled, withdrawing the stake and then lunged back towards the fight. Only two left, and Angel was almost finished with them. Ignoring the goo on her fingers, Cordelia waited for one to fall. She pounced on it and drove the stake into its face, taking out at least one eye permanently and making a pretty nasty hole.

She withdrew the stake and stabbed again. She watched the liquid froth over the wood. Better the stake then her fingers.

With Cordy finishing that one off, Angel was able to take the last one down. After maiming one eye, he'd floored it. Now staring down at it while he pinned it to the earth with his foot, Angel didn't bother with more eyes. He reached down, roughly grasping its head, and twisted. With a snap and a jerk it went limp.

When Angel came away, he was covered in ooze. He shook his hands to shake it off, but when the stuff stuck, all he could do was grimace. He walked over to Cordy and helped her to her feet.

"Look at us!" She whined, trying to shed the pus off of her beautiful jacket. "God! Do they always have to have something nasty to them??? Why can't they be non-disgusting for once…clean and easy! Instead of gross and…GROSS!"

Angel tried to help her wipe it off.

"Are you okay?" He asked worriedly, noticing her scrapes and cuts before brushing his hands down her jacket, and not even realizing that his hands were caressing her swells; and not helping to clean it off really, if anything just tracking more of it in streaks.

"Yeah," She sighed. "You?" She glanced up into his face, halted and growled. She ran her sticky fingers through the front of his hair, coming away with more stick. "EW! Angel! Your hair! Those bastards messed up your hair!"

He smoothed it back self consciously, turning to eye the empty alley.

He gripped her hand, and started to pull. Finding suddenly that they were suddenly alone meant that they were not.

"Let's get out of here."

They'd killed at least two, obviously, as Cordelia had stabbed one to death and Angel, after gouging out it eye, had snapped its neck. All the others had been able to flee. And had obviously come back to collect their dead undetected while Angel and Cordelia were busy brushing themselves off. That meant they weren't as messed up as Angel had originally thought. Which meant they might be strong enough to fight. And as much pain as had been inflicted, they'd definitely come back pretty pissed. It was doubtful they'd return so soon, but still… "Oh yeah, we gotta go." He said.

Cordelia didn't argue. 

"I'm with you."

"What happened to the woman?" Angel asked as they both climbed into the car and he quickly started the engine.

"She ran. Of course." Cordy flipped down the passenger's side visor and peered into the mirror as Angel backed the car out of the alley and then shot off into the street. "Ew…_my hair!_ Look at what they did to me! TO US!"

She stared over at Angel so gravely that he suddenly had to laugh. He'd been so scared, and thought she would have been too, but now…she was just angry…and not about the fight, but about her appearance!

"This isn't funny!" Cordy fumed, slamming the visor up and then unbuttoning her coat. She slipped it off and tossed it into the back seat. At least her clothes underneath had been spared. She looked down…except for her boots. "YUCK!"

"I'm not laughing at you," Angel said, smiling despite the situation.

"Then what are you laughing at?"

"I don't know."

"Well…alright then."

"I don't understand it myself," Cordelia was saying. She and Angel had been discussing the almost-vision.

"If you were going to get it, you'd think they'd have given it to you before we even left the office. Or the house for that matter. Why on the spot?"

"Don't know, don't care. All that I know is I got out of a headache to get into a brawl. Exchanging one pain for another doesn't seem like such a hot deal,"

Angel looked down at her and smiled. "And what a brawl it was. You did great, Cordy."

"Thanks." She managed a troubled smile.

"If you hadn't of been there, I probably wouldn't have made it out,"

"I don't know, I guess… It was hard. I don't how you do it, Angel."

"Practice?"

"Maybe."

"You know, Wesley's going to be thrilled when he hears about those demons,"

"That's his problem... God, I have got to get this crap off of me!" Cordelia stamped her foot impatiently as she stood at the door waiting for Dennis to let them in. "DENNIS!"

That ghost was getting slow. Usually the door would have been half way opened before they got down the hallway. Now he was barely unlocking it. Cordelia didn't wait for him to get the knob, she turned and shoved it herself; the door coasting back wide, hitting the wall as it let them in. She stomped into her apartment, dropping her ruined coat on to the floor and then headed towards the bathroom. Angel followed her, allowing Dennis to close the door behind them, and slipping off his coat in the process. He left it on the floor near hers. They'd left the stuff from the office in the trunk, too tired to bring it up, too tired to care. It wasn't anything that couldn't wait until they were cleaned up and comfortable.

Angel came up behind Cordelia and stared into the mirror's reflection as she stood over the sink, examining the scrapes on her head. She winced as she touched a finger to it, the skin sizzling hot beneath.

"Ow!"

She jumped when she felt Angel's cool fingers against it.

"It's not too bad, but it needs to be cleaned."

She turned back and stared at him as he reached past her and opened the medicine cabinet. When he closed it again she was looked back to her own reflection; ready in the mirror with his nowhere to be found. As she reached for the bottle of peroxide, she felt him take her by the shoulders. 

"Here, let me," He gently guided her around to face him.

"I can do it," She protested, reaching for the cotton ball in his hand. He retracted it.

"No way. How often is it that I get to do you? It's always you doing me, I want to return the favor."

Cordelia blushed at his choice of words.

"Well, you know what I meant!" He said, suddenly embarrassed too. "I meant…patching up…"

"I know, Nurse Angel." She teased. "It's okay, I got what you meant…now, go on."

"Right." He smiled tightly, and then soaked the cotton in the medicated liquid.

As he touched it to her forehead, she let out a whimper. The peroxide bubbled as it came in contact with her skin, and with his free hand, Angel held her still. Cordelia gave in and tried to relax, but it stung a little, and she couldn't help be antsy. She closed her eyes tight, gritting her teeth, but then slighted in relief as the cotton was pulled away, and was suddenly replaced with Angel's cool breath.

She peeked open an eye and realized he was blowing on her cut.

"What are you doing?" She asked.

"Isn't this what you do to make it feel better?" He stopped blowing and looked down at her sincerely. Cordelia eyed him strangely.

"I...guess,"

"I see moms doing it on the Band-Aide commercials all the time."

"I thought you didn't watch TV."

"I don't. But when I do…I pick up stuff, tips…about the living."

"Oh." Cordelia frowned. "Well...in that case, yeah, okay. Go ahead."

"Okay."

He blew on it again.

Cordelia closed her eyes and enjoyed it.

"I think you should take a shower," Cordelia said while Angel cleaned up the mess on the sink. She had a small sterile smelling bandage just above her eyebrow, and her body suddenly felt tired. She'd forgotten about getting slammed into the pavement, and rubbed absentmindedly at the back of her head.

"Do I smell that bad?" He asked, amused. She grinned.

"Yes…but then so do I, what with all this demon pus on me."

"You take one first, I know it's really bothering you."

"Nah," She said to his surprise. "You take one first. I want to take a nice, long bath and I want to take my time." Angel had started to nod, when she continued. "And YOU. While I'm in the tub, I want you to make me a snack because all that fighting has left me starved."

"Oh, really?" Angel said, arching his brow at her.

"Yep." She said, quite satisfied with herself and her demands. She started to leave the room. "And make something good. None of that cheese and crackers stuff, k?"

"Demanding, aren't you."

"Hey. I saved your ass in that alley, the least you could is make me something nice!"

"I wasn't arguing!" He said, quickly holding up his hands. "I swear, I'll make something special,"

"Good." She smiled.

He smiled too, watching her go. 

She swaggered out of the room, but not before giving him a quick 'hurry up', and then closed the door soundly. Angel listened to her footsteps pass through her bedroom and then disappear into the living room before he turned and pulled back the shower curtain. He turned on the water and slowly started to undress. When the water was warm, and he was nude, Angel stepped into the shower and started to rinse off.

As he ran his hands through his hair, he realized just how sticky this crap really was. He eyed Cordelia's shampoo bottle, hoping there'd be enough left over when he was done. He squirted a handful into his palm and slowly started to lather. He'd have to rinse and repeat six times before the gunk was all out. Angel smiled to himself though as he now smelled like Cordelia's shampoo. It was that same heavenly smell he'd fallen asleep to on her pillows.

Angel had taken longer than she'd expected, and Cordelia had started to get restless. It wasn't fun trying to perch on the couch without sitting all the way back and getting demon pus on it. No, not fun at all, and now besides being tired and battered, she was stiff from sitting weird. A nice, hot bath would fix that.

Except that Angel used most of the hot water.

Cordy frowned as she soaked in her cool tub. The cool tub was really just as good, but what really irked her was that she was almost out of shampoo, and yet, she'd just bought this bottle less than two weeks ago! This stuff was expensive! And eyeing it calmly, Cordelia wondered just what it was that Angel had been doing with it all. She shuddered to think…

She sank back into the water, letting her knees rise to poke slightly above the surface, and closed her tired eyes.

Angel was in the kitchen, dressed in his pajamas although it was barely twelve am, not anywhere near his bed time, as he made up a midnight snack for his seer. He mixed up a special butter-garlic sauce as a pot of pasta cooked on the stove. He'd found the bare essential ingredients to a quick Italian meal hidden within the outwardly bare contents of Cordelia's kitchen. If there was one thing Angel could do besides fight off ugly, pus-eyed demons, it was whip up a meal when there was virtually nothing on hand to make it out of.

He wasn't a miracle worker though; the pasta and that was it. Having used most of her food supply earlier to make omelets, there weren't any greens in the fridge for salad, or any bread in the closet for, well, bread. Cordy was gonna have to eat it alone…well, that and a half empty bottle of red wine he found stored above the sink. He stuck it in the icebox to chill so it'd be ready when she got out of her bath.

Cordelia finished shaving her legs and placed her feet squarely against the tile of the shower wall on either sides of the faucet just above the water. She flexed her toes; now starting to wrinkle, she'd been in here so long.

She sighed contently, dipping her hands into the bath, scooping up some water, and then running her hands through her damp hair one last time. She sat up, leaning forward to open the drain. The water started to swirl, and the drain glug as it swallowed the water down in big gulps. Cordelia started to rise when suddenly the lights went out. She halted, completely still, and suddenly there was a rumbling.

"Shit," She hissed, feeling completely vulnerable in the complete dark as a small earthquake rumbled through the floors of her apartment building. She clutched the shower curtain, not having anything else to hold onto, and when the walls swayed, the curtain rod broke and Cordelia fell back into the tub with the plastic around her. Her eyes widened in shock as she listened to the sounds the walls made creaking back and forth. Before it stopped, Angel was pushing through the door and scooping her out of the tub, shower curtain and all.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah, just…surprised!"

"Okay, it was just a little one."

"Okay."

Cordelia felt sort of stupid wrapped up in her shower curtain in Angel's arms. She could barely even see him now, where they stood in the bedroom doorway. Her eyes were adjusting slowly, and he gently switched his grasp on her, letting her legs down to the floor. Her bare feet met the polished wood floor and she took a slight step back, glancing around in the shadows. His hands were still around her shoulders, but he was releasing his grip.

"Stay here, I'm going to get your robe…Dennis? The kitchen?" Without another word, the stove was turned off, and the pot atop it was lifted to the counter. Angel left Cordelia alone for only a few seconds as he went back into the bathroom and brought back her robe. She thanked him as he held it out to her, and after finally making the decision to just do it, she turned away and let the shower curtain drop and quickly, most frantically, jumped into her robe. Tying the belt at her waist, she turned back to face where she thought she could see him waiting, and reached out a hand. He took it in his own, and then led her out into the living room, careful to lead her around the furniture and over to the sofa where he had her take a seat.

"We'll just wait here, okay? The power should come back on any minute," He rubbed at her fingers, and she smiled, feeling slightly better.

"Okay. Let's hope."

   [1]: mailto:rachelpeek@excite.com



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